In My Sky At Twilight
by sinemoras09
Summary: The things that make a hero. Sky High-centric. Gen. Angst. Spoilers for episode 15.


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It's the best save all week: the crowd roars as TV announcers proclaim Sky High's great comeback; confetti pops and streamers waft around him as civilians wave and clap their hands, the throng of people converging on him excitedly.

The crowd cheers. Sky High swoops forward, saluting the crowd before flipping and vaulting into the air.

At home, his apartment is dark, and John's tail is wagging when he greets him at the door. The apartment is quiet. Keith takes off his gloves and sets down his helmet, pausing only to reach down and scratch John between the ears.

xXx

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His sponsors at Poseidon arrange an interview: "Live with Sternbild's King of Heroes! Back on the throne at last! SKY..._HIGH!_"

He hovers in the air, the mike in his helmet amplified and the scuff marks on his breast plate polished to a silver gleam.

"Sky High! Tell us! How did you get through that burning building?"

"Sky High! Isn't it true that if you weren't patrolling, Hero TV wouldn't have made it in time?"

"Sky High! How on earth did you manage to rescue that little boy?"

"With luck and good fortune!" Sky High says. A dozen mikes are thrust in front of him. Sky High smiles.

His popularity soars. Once again, he is tied with Barnaby for the number one spot, and with his latest act of heroism, is poised to take over.

xXx

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The corporate get-together is done in his honor, but Keith stands awkwardly with his drink, waiting while Kotetsu chats up the guests and Nathan makes his rounds. The room is too warm and the jacket of his suit is too tight around his shoulders, and every time Keith moves to shake someone's hand, he has the uncomfortable sensation that the fabric is just shy of splitting. "God, even your pants are too short," Blue Rose says, and Keith is about to apologize when one of his bosses walks toward him.

"Here he is, the man of the hour," the man in the suit says, and he shakes Keith's hand. "That was quite a save, there. All of Sternbild is abuzz. Our ratings are through the roof! And we have you and that little boy to thank." The man laughs, then claps Keith on the back. " _'Thank you, from the depths of my heart!'_It's normally quite ridiculous, but this time they completely ate it up! You had them sitting in the palm of your hand."

Keith smiles, except he isn't sure if his boss is making fun of him. He starts to speak, but his boss steps past him, moving to shake another man's hand.

Keith hovers. He smiles uncertainly, then sips his drink, watching how Kotetsu laughs while Barnaby rolls his eyes, and how easy Nathan mingles with the others.

xXx

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There is an article in paper: TEN QUESTIONS FOR SKY HIGH. They ask him about his favorite color (blue), about keeping fit and his favorite fruit (bananas), and what he'd do on a perfect date.

_Sky High: I would love to fly over Paris. See the colors of the sunset with the woman I love! There is no other joy than that, I think._

They ask him about his daily routine, and Sky High answers, _I wake up early and eager to start the day!_

_Interviewer: What do you do when you wait for crisis to happen?_

_Sky High: I train! I must keep myself in top physical condition, as do my comrades in arms._

Keith's daily routine is not much different.

His alarm is set for 6 AM, but John always wakes him up earlier, pawing at his sheets and whining at the foot of his bed. Keith gets up and John trots toward the door, tail wagging while Keith rubs the sleep from his eyes and fishes out John's leash from around the doorknob. There is a metal clasp at the end of the leash, which Keith hooks onto John's collar, and John always at this point looks up at him as if he's grinning, tongue hanging out and tail wagging.

They jog in the early morning, just before sunrise. John trots happily beside him and stops occasionally to sniff at something interesting or to take a bathroom break. In his pocket, Keith keeps plastic bags for John's stool, which he scoops up unceremoniously and hangs around his wrist as he jogs. Afterwards they go back home and Keith goes into the shower, closing his eyes and letting the warm water roll down his face and back.

Breakfast is toast and two boiled eggs. John laps at a bowl of water and munches on kibble and wet food, before moving to sit on Keith's feet. Keith eats his eggs while John gnaws on an old tennis ball.

He leaves for work. He doesn't crate John, because crating seems cruel and John is a good dog, and smarter than Keith is, most likely. Keith scratches John behind the ears, lays down some newspaper in his pen, then leaves, locking the door.

xXx

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The Heroes at the command center are working out: Nathan is spotting Antonio and Blue Rose is harassing Kotetsu, who in turn is harassing Barnaby. Keith smiles and waves, slinging his towel over his shoulder and walking past Pao-Lin and Ivan, who are doing reps of crunches and counting out the numbers out loud.

Nobody sees him, but that's okay. Keith sits on a machine and begins lifting methodically, silently counting out the reps while Nathan flirts and Kotetsu laughs and everyone talks and chats and moves along around him.

It's times like these he thinks back to the girl at the fountain: it makes him feel lonely, so he concentrates on his reps, silently counting and concentrating on the burn in his muscles, and on keeping good form.

"Ew!" Blue rose says. Shrieks, really, because Kotetsu is laughing and Barnaby is rolling his eyes. "God, why do you have to be so _gross_?"

"It's not gross," Kotetsu says, and he takes on that voice he uses when he's talking to Kaede. "It's sweat. And I can't help it if I sweat on the equipment, I said I would wipe it off."

"Why can't you be like Sky High?" Blue Rose says, and all heads turn to him. "He never leaves his crap around the gym, why can't you guys be _neat _for once?"

"_Why can't you guys be neat for once?_" Kotetsu says, _sotto voce_. "Ha! In your dreams, missy. Not everyone can be Mr. Perfect."

"Mr. Perfect?" Keith says, but Barnaby steps forward.

"Blue Rose is right," Barnaby says. "The gym is disgusting. Everyone should follow Sky High's example."

Suddenly the room is staring daggers at him. Nathan rolls his eyes dramatically and Antonio makes a face. Ivan and Pao-Lin look at him, blankly.

"I have Clorox wipes," Keith says, and he holds up the container.

He comes home late in the afternoon. His bracelet doesn't activate, but Keith suits up anyway, slipping into his suit and launching into the air.

"There he goes again." Agnes swivels around her chair, talking to her co-worker. She doesn't realize that her elbow probably hit the intercom to Keith's ear piece, so he can hear everything she's saying. "He's such a goddamn boy scout, you'd think he gets a hard-on from helping old ladies across the street."

"He probably has nothing better to do," her co-worker says.

He makes a wide arc, swooping past Kotetsu's apartment, where he is talking to Kaede and his mother on the phone, then flies past Nathan's, who is entertaining guests at his home. Ivan and Pao-Lin study in the library and Barnaby is making fried rice in his kitchen, pouring over the ingredients with a studied concentration akin to defusing a bomb.

He switches off the intercom. He lands quietly on the balcony of his apartment, where John greets him with a wagging tail and panting hang-dog grin. Keith pulls off his gear and lets it drop in piles around him, before lying on the couch, letting John nuzzle his head against his lap and hop up to lick him hello.

xXx

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A few months back, back before Keith met the girl and before he fell hopelessly, painfully in love, the heroes all went out for drinks; Keith tagged along, but he told the others John was waiting for him at home, and he would have to leave and walk him soon. Nathan had smirked.

"Well of course he'd have to leave. Our boy Sky High is the perfect Boy Scout, after all."

"It has nothing to do with that," Keith said. "John is waiting for me at home. He will need to use the bathroom."

At the time, it made him uncomfortable. Keith was never good in situations like this. He waited politely. He thought about John and was hoping he wasn't too mad at him for taking so long, but Kotetsu elbowed him hard against the ribs and whispered.

"Look," Kotetsu said. "She's looking at you! Look."

Keith looked. There was a woman leaning against the end of the bar, one slender arm curling in front of her.

"Ne, Sky High." Kotetsu whispered conspiratorially. "She likes you. Why don't you talk to her?"

Keith blushed, then fiddled with his napkin. "Oh no, I couldn't. She looks as if she's busy."

"Oh c'mon, I'll even tell you what to say," Kotetsu said. Keith turned pale.

Keith needed to walk John. Keith needed to patrol, because what if something happens and the Heroes are too inebriated to work effectively? Kotetsu frowned at him and Blue Rose glared, and Nathan tossed his head back and laughed, elegant like silver bells.

"Well! We shall miss your presence, Mr. Perfect. Just don't get into too much trouble."

xXx

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The next day, Sky High is scheduled for an interview at a popular talk show, and dutifully Keith suits up and becomes Sky High in the mirror, pausing to wave at the staff and crew staring at him outside.

Unlike Barnaby and Tiger, Keith doesn't take off his helmet when he's interviewed, opting to stay in full regalia while the talk show host talks to him from behind the desk. He sits but it's difficult and the couch sinks too low, and the metal in his suit makes it hard to cross his legs, which is what he's seen celebrities do when they're being interviewed.

Keith is not good at thinking on his feet; unlike Kotetsu, he's not good at telling jokes, he's not charming like Nathan nor is he as self-assured as Barnaby. So when the viewers see the interview, all they see is Sky High, a tin can man in a stiff metal suit, sitting ramrod straight while the talk show host asks him questions, pitching him soft balls but Sky High missing, spectacularly.

("As to be expected of our Sky High!" the talk show host says.)

xXx

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Sometimes, Keith wonders about the girl at the fountain.

She was like him. Her powers were new and they were awkward and growing, and he could sense that she felt out of place in her environment, a giant, hulking thing trapped in a world of delicate flowers. Super strength and super power do not always make for a super easy transition, and Keith had understood. Understood more than anyone, in fact.

He wonders what he said to make her go away.

xXx

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"Sky High! Tell us! If you had three wishes, what three things would you wish for?"

The man in the metal suit doesn't pause.

"A wife and children, and a safe world for them to play in!"

"As is expected of our Sky High," the talk show host says.

The audience smiles and goes, _awww_.

xXx

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One day, there is an explosion. Sky High rushes in, and Hero TV swoops in behind him. The factory is collapsing and people are screaming.

He doesn't make it in time. The place explodes and fragments of stone and concrete burst out like fireworks, and the force of it throws him back.

People die because he can't make it in time.

That night, Keith lies awake holding a pillow to his chest; John hops up on the bed, then nudges at Keith's face. Keith moves, then pets John, absently. John whines and Keith scratches his ears, and this time John lies next to him, making a little half-turn before curling up into a sleepy ball.

He doesn't talk to the interviewers. He sits quietly while Barnaby elegantly and regretfully tells reporters what went wrong. They tried their best, but sometimes these things happen.

Keith doesn't fly. He walks, feet dragging on the ground.

xXx

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There is a group of children waiting outside the Hero TV command center, so Kotetsu and Barnaby and Keith suit up to greet them: "It's Tiger and Barnaby! And look! Sky High!" The children rush around them, pushing notebooks for signatures and snapping pictures on their cell phones.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Kotetsu is saying. Like Keith's, his voice is filtered and amplified through the suit, so that it sounds almost robotic. The child waves, "I want to be a hero!" and Kotetsu laughs and ruffles his hair, and Keith turns and waves as the children cheer.

"Remember to listen to your parents! Get good grades and eat your vegetables!" Keith says. The children cheer and wave and Keith springboards upwards, doing a somersault in the air.

"Do it again! Do it again!" the kids say.

Hero TV officials come out. "Okay kids. The heroes are busy. Another time. And remember to keep watching Hero TV"

"Aww!"

"No fair!"

"I wanted to see Barnaby and Sky High fight!"

And Keith remembers that _this _is what he wanted to protect, the bright lights of Sternbild's future, and he smiles and waves.

Later, he is running with John when he passes a little boy sitting on the curb. Keith slows to a jog, then stops, curiously. The little boy looks up at him and grins.

"You work at Hero TV, right?"

"Yes," Keith says, surprised. "How did you know?"

"I could tell by your jacket," the boy says. He looks up at him and grins. "Hey," the boy says. "Have you met them? The heroes?"

"Yes I have!" Keith says. He squats beside the boy, whom John is sniffing, curiously. "They are all virtuous and stand-up citizens, doing their best to safeguard the citizens of Sternbild! I am very lucky," Keith says. John licks the boy. The boy squeals, delighted.

"You sound like Sky High!" the boy says, and Keith only smiles.


End file.
